Bombs in Be'er Sheva

Yesterday evening, one of the other Ulpanists (foreigners studying Hebrew on the Kibbutz) said that he'd received a call from an Aunt who lives in Be'er Sheva. She told him that there had been rockets in Be'er Sheva near her house. It freaked me out, but I didn't really see that as a reliable source. Be'er Sheva is so close to us; it's the nearest city. It would be like if you lived in the North Hills and you heard that there were attacks in downtown Pittsburgh, or if you lived in College Park MD and heard about bombings in DC or if you lived in Westchester county and heard about bombings in NYC. It's close. It's my city. If I need to use an ATM, I need to go to Be'er Sheva. The only bus that comes here goes directly to Be'er Sheva. So it's really close. But like I said, this was unreliable.

We all rushed to computers after dinner to check the news. It didn't say anything, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But about an hour or two after we'd heard, sure enough, the news was up. 2 Rockets hit Be'er Sheva last night, and there was a barrage of bombs and rockets today. Residents of Be'er Sheva are in bomb shelters and all schools have been cancelled. This was especially lucky, because one of the rockets directly hit an elementary school, which was thankfully empty due to the school closures.

I know feel more like I'm in a country at war on its own soil. It is totally different from 9-11 when there was one attack and then it was over. We don't have time to focus on the aftermath and the rebuilding because we're still under attack. I've always been incredibly liberal and a pacifist. If I were getting this information at home, I'd undoubtedly side with the UN and be angry at Israel. But being here, it's totally different. What is Israel supposed to do? Any other democratic country in the entire world would not be expected to tolerate attacks on it's own soil. It may seem like Israel retaliated harshly, but could you imagine if any country started daily bombings on the US or the UK or Canada? And don't say that Israel deserved it, because the US and UK have killed and angered populations as much or more. It's really easy to side with peace and low death tolls when you're removed and it doesn't really effect yourself and your friends. I know it's easy to say the same from the Palestinian's side too, because they're in danger as well. But if the Palestinians were to make an effort toward peace or demonstrate that they really wanted peace, Israel would listen. Israel wants peace too. Israel is willing to let the Palestinians have their own government and control their own schools, hospitals, etc, as long as that government doesn't use it's schools to train terrorists and use it's factories to build bombs.

It's just not so easy when you're in the middle of it, is basically what I'm saying. It feels very close to home for me. I know I'm safe, but it's my nearest city that's being bombed. Our Hebrew school teacher had to leave class early today because she lives in Be'er Sheva, and her young children could hear the bombs and were hiding in bomb shelters. It's a war, and people don't seem to get that. Even people here. It's not an easy situation and there's no easy solution, but saying that it should end immediately isn't satisfying in the long run. Do you really expect Israel to just wait around for Hamas to build up its artillery and end the cease fire? Because that's what happens every time. Israel is seeking a more satisfying and permanent solution that will protect its people and create real peace... lasting peace. Peace is not an opportunity to strengthen your artillary. That's not real peace, that's preperation for war. And honestly, I hope that this ends soon but ends successfully. I hope that the people of Israel and the people of Gaza don't have to wonder when the war will begin again. And I hope that this is a step toward that goal.